AccountanCY firm PwC is to offer free advice as part of a sponsorship package with Sir Tom Hunter’s Entrepreneurial Spark business incubator and accelerator programme.

The “big four” firm will support top-performing “chiclets” at the programme’s “hatcheries” in Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow through a series of workshops to be held at the three sites throughout this year.

PwC will also provide financial awards to winners of Entrepreneurial Spark’s events for fledgling business, based on how they plan, adapt and deliver winning pitches.

Flexitricity eyes public sector work

SMART electricity grid operator Flexitricity has sealed a deal with the UK government to help public sector bodies generate income from their back-up generators.

Under the deal, the Edinburgh company will help public bodies get cash from the national grid for either reducing their power consumption at peak times or feeding electricity into the grid via generators. Flexitricity, which turns over £3 million a year, expects the deal will boost sales by £2.8m over the next three years. Sites using the firm’s services can receive £100,000 a year.

Co-operative Bank has appointed Scots-born industry veteran Graeme Hardie as a non-executive director.

In a career spanning more than 30 years, Hardie has held senior roles at Royal Bank of Scotland and Abbey. He oversaw the branch integration programme following RBS’s takeover of NatWest in 2000 and later ran NatWest’s branch network.

Hardie is already a non-executive at Metro Bank.

The Co-op is expanding its banking operation with the £750 million acquisition of 632 branches from Lloyds.

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